Dubai: Sizzling ahead of Expo 2020 vote

It seems that every other word you see or hear in Dubai at the moment is “Expo”. The city’s gone Expo crazy – and with good reason: delegates from the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) have been in town this week to witness Dubai‘s final pitch to bring Expo 2020 to our shores. The decision will then lie in the hands of the judges and we – well, we await the results of the November 27 vote on tenterhooks.

And I really don’t want to tempt fate by saying this, but how can Dubai not win? As 10-year-old Ali, who features in the film made for Dubai’s bid, says, “Dubai is already like one big Expo.”

It’s up against Ekaterinburg in Russia, Izmir in Turkey and Sao Paolo in Brazil. All are surely great places but, in the plans of what will be done should it win, our little city is doing precisely what it does best – and that’s to show itself off, to innovate, to take the best ideas and to think not just out of the box and but totally off the scale. It’s totally aligned to the specifics of the job in hand.

As Joseph Ghoussoub of MENA Communication Group (MENACOM) told Gulf News , “Dubai has already proven to everyone that ‘yes’ it can be done and ‘yes’ it can be achieved and ‘yes’ it can be made better.”

The sense of excitement, of ambition and anticipation that’s sweeping the city is both infectious and intoxicating. A group of climbers this week planted the Dubai Expo 2020 flag at the top of Mount Kilimanjaroand, believe it or not, the same flag’s also decorating Mount Everest. “What better way than to elevate our efforts from the roof of the world?” said Salif Mitnan, one of two expats who battled extreme weather conditions to show their support.

The good news is that Dubai is, as reported in Arabian Business, in a strong position with a lot of support from other countries; the bid is widely believed to be the best funded of the four; and Expo officials have apparently already been impressed with how aligned Dubai is to its common vision.

Yet many of us are guilty of complacency – I hear people speak of “Dubai Expo” as if it’s a forgone conclusion – it’s not “if we win” but “when we win”. Taxi drivers bemoan what the traffic will be like “when we get the Expo”; the property market is said to be “on pause” while people wait for the potential gains to be made in the instance of a Dubai win.

This week’s visit from the BIE delegates serves as a timely reminder that Dubai Expo’s not in the bag; let’s not forget there are three other contenders, and Turkey’s also strong.

Annabel Kantaria is a journalist who moved to Dubai long before most people knew where it was. She doesn’t ride a camel to work; has never seen a gold-plated golf buggy and only rarely has pink champagne for breakfast. Follow her on Twitter: @BellaKay